


First Impressions

by sgteam14283



Series: Better Version of Me [2]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-09-07 01:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20301337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgteam14283/pseuds/sgteam14283
Summary: Ryder wanted to show that she deserved to be on the Normandy. Apparently blind-rushing husks and a banshee wasn't the way to go.





	1. Fetch Mission

**Author's Note:**

> this is all [masulevin's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/masulevin) fault, she posted a Ryder/Vega fic and I fell for this rare pair, thus spawning my own Ryder/Vega series. Takes place just after [Shore Leave](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17843894/chapters/42106670), but isn't required to read in order to follow this one. Enjoy!

Staring at the streaks of FTL from the observation lounge windows, Anna Ryder was still trying to process the fact that _Commander Shepard_ wanted her on the Normandy.

Her shoulder gave a twinge and Anna was reminded of the firefight to take down Sage, the leader of her former Red gang. She also remembered how James Vega had seemed particularly concerned with her injury after the fight was done. “_He was just making sure I was alright. Besides, I don’t need to get involved with a squadmate._”

She felt the slight pull of the Normandy coming out of FTL, the stars snapping back into place. A few minutes later the door opened and Anna turned to see Vega stepping through. “Lieutenant.”

“Corporal.” Ryder had been on the Normandy a few days now, mostly recovering from the shoulder injury she’d gotten before leaving the Citadel. He wouldn’t deny that she was easy on the eyes, but there were more important things to focus on. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Almost at a hundred, but Doctor Chakwas cleared me.” Anna hesitated for a second before continuing, “We going somewhere?” 

“Lo-Shepard needs to retrieve something for the Asari. She likes to take new squad members out to get a feel for their style. Although the Commander’s gotten a head start with you.” Vega gave a slight smile as he finished, remembering the small fight in Zakarian Ward. Ryder had surprised both of them with her biotics, getting rid of the lookouts before they could tell anyone with moves that screamed Vanguard.

“And I assume I’m going in my uniform.” 

Vega let out an amused laugh, “I don’t think it’d last long against the husks. Check your locker in the loadout room.” 

“_Vega definatly isn’t like my last LT._” she thought while following Vega down the hallway and into the elevator. She was grateful that he'd seen the humor of her quip, the last time she was in the Alliance her smart replies (among other things) hadn’t gone over well. 

Catching sight of Major Alenko in the back, Anna steeled herself for a passing comment if they got off at the same deck. The major hadn’t said anything outright, but Anna had gotten enough of those looks when people heard her last name to know that he wasn’t thrilled that Shepard brought her onboard. A jolt told Ryder that the elevator had reached the shuttle bay and she stepped out with most in the elevator, including the major. But she ignored him, trying to focus on the mission ahead. She found her locker easily enough, last name hastily scrawled across a piece of tape, and opened it to start getting ready. 

“It’s not new, but the armor should fit.” 

Anna turned around to see Major Alenko leaning against the first bank of lockers. “Thank you.” she nodded and there was a beat of awkward energy where neither of them moved. “You don’t think I should be here.”

“I didn’t say that.” 

“But you’re thinking it.”

Kaidan straightened as he looked at Ryder, seeing a steely glint flash through her eyes. “I’m just wondering if Shepard made the right choice.” 

“If you’re worried about my combat experience-”

“I read the C-Sec report on Zakarian Ward, you can handle yourself.” Kaidan gave a half-smile as he continued, “Although you could probably use a few lessons on biotic barriers.”

“I’d be willing for a refresher.” A beat passed. “Sir.”

Kaidan knew the honorific was barely tacked on, but he ignored it because Ryder was still re-adjusting to Alliance life. “She sometimes has a blind spot when it comes to people she sees herself in. The Commander wants to help everyone she can, even if that means seeing the potential rather than the risks.”

“You think I’m a risk.”

“I think that Shepard’s trying to think outside of the box. And if that means picking up someone with your skill set then it’s worth seeing if it pays off. Good luck out there.” 

Anna watched the major round the bank of lockers while letting what he’d said sink in. Letting out a huff, she turned towards the open locker and pulled out the armor. Alenko had been right, it wasn’t new by any means but it fit. Her hair was still too short for the regulation bun, but long enough to be pulled back into a ponytail. She’d just finished tightening her vambraces when Joker’s voice came over the comm telling them that they were approaching the planet. Quickly grabbing the helmet, she slammed the locker shut and made her way towards the Kodiak. 

Rose Shepard was finishing her weapon’s check when Ryder appeared and she was glad to see the younger woman had been able to get suited up without much problem. “Go see Vega, he’s got your weapons. You can spec them out later.” 

Anna nodded and soon her, Shepard, and Vega were headed towards a planet full of Reapers.

  
\--  


Ryder knew they were in Asari space. But looking at the destroyed buildings and hearing her suit work overtime to clear all the dust and other particles from the air, it was hard to believe that the planet had been populated at all.

“EDI said the temple isn’t far.” Rose Shepard said as she watched Ryder get her bearings, wondering if the younger woman had been on Earth when the Reapers hit or she was off-planet before then. “Anything coming up on radar Vega?”

“A few pings up ahead, Commander.” Vega said, looking at his omni-tool; even with the boost from EDI it was still shorting out from time to time. “Probably just husks, but you know how the Reapers like to throw surprises at us.”

Rose let out a laugh while unclamping her assault rifle and loading in a heat sink. “Ryder, you good with scouting ahead?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Vega watched as Ryder pulled out her Carnifax pistol and move ahead in a streak of botic blue. As she crested the hill, he switched to a private comm, “Thoughts Commander?”

“On Ryder?” Rose looked at James but couldn’t see his expression through the dust on his helmet. “Her jacket said she had potential as a Vanguard, but she got kicked out before she could finish training. What do you think?” 

“She’s got a chip on her shoulder about something. With her history it’d be hard not to. But if Zakarian Ward is anything to go by, she’ll be handy when things hit the fan.”

“_We’re clear, Commander._” 

“Copy. On our way to join you.” Shepard said as her and Vega started towards the hill.

The temple was right where EDI said it’d be, and they hadn’t run into any problems. But as they walked through the entrance, Shepard didn’t let her guard down. “Vega. EDI said the rings should be near the front alter. Ryder and I’ll make sure a banshee doesn’t come for your ass.”

“Thanks Lola. I workout too much to have all this smeared across the floor.” Vega said with a hint of laughter as he jogged towards the front of the temple. 

Ryder watched the exchange, not knowing what to think. She knew about Commander Shepard, everyone did; you couldn’t go five feet without seeing her face on a faded recruitment poster. But the person cracking slightly inappropriate jokes with her Lieutenant wasn’t matching up to the face the Alliance had plastered everywhere.

“Ryder.”

Anna jumped at Shepard’s voice, moving automatically for the knife that wasn’t on her side anymore.

“You alright?” Rose asked, wondering what was going on in the younger woman’s mind. She’d been busy the past few days, trying to sort through the intel on Tuchanka and trying to run down leads on the Illusive Man’s location that she had only spent the bare minimum with Anna. 

And that was mostly to make sure she got a bunk, a fresh uniform, and armor.

Anna nodded, “Just a little overwhelming. Seeing what the reapers did to this place that is. I mean, I _heard_ about when they landed on Earth, but I was on Mars-” 

A shriek cut off the rest and Shepard turned towards the sound while raising her Avenger. In the distance she could see a figure covered in a dark blue glow.

“_Damn it. And here I thought I had enough ammo._” Rose thought as she glanced towards Vega.

“We’ve got incoming! You find the rings yet?” she yelled over the noise, wincing slightly at the stab of pain that it caused.

Vega picked up the broken box as gently as he could while getting up from the floor, “Just found them. How many?”

“Enough to make this a party.” There was a pause before he heard Shepard shout, “How long until evac?”

“_The LZ’s swarming with husks, Commander._” Vega heard Cortez reply over the comm. “_EDI’s working on an alternate, but it’s going to be a few minutes._”

“I can clear them.” Anna said, looking at the husks. They were moving quickly, but she was confident she could thin the ranks some. Quick checking her pistol, she powered up her biotics and dashed away from Shepard.

“No. We need to-_Ryder!_”

Vega looked up to see a streak of biotic energy bolting away from where he’d left Lola and Ryder. Swearing under his breath, Vega broke into a jog and made it back as husks appeared in his line of sight. “Commander?”

“Looks like we’re making our stand here.” Rose gritted out as she started firing on the approaching horde.

He couldn’t see the Commander’s expression, but James knew she wasn’t happy about Ryder ignoring orders. So he stashed the box nearby and joined in firing. 

Anna heard the tell-tale _click_ as her pistol ran out of ammo and holstered it quickly before pulling out her shotgun in practiced motions. She was making progress, using her omni-blade when husks got too close for her to shoot them or her biotics were on cool-down. But then there was that skull-splitting screech again and this time it was closer than it had been before. 

Stumbling slightly, she saw ashy hands grab at her arms. Lashing out with her omni-blade, Anna managed to free herself and kicked the limp bodies away to create some kind of space to move around it. Focusing her biotics, she threw up a shield as the banshee warped forwards. But it was slow to encase her and she only had a second to register what had happened before it grabbed her chestplate, yanking her sideways. 

“_That’s not good._” she thought while realizing the creature looked vaguely asari.

“Damn it Ryder.” Rose gritted out, while reaching for the heat sink that wasn’t there. “Vega, got any more incendiary ammo?”

“Last one Commander.” James said, pausing long enough to toss the clip to Shepard then slammed the butt of his gun into the skull of a husk that lunged for him.

“Thanks. I’m going after her, watch our six.” Rose dashed forwards, wisps of blue and purple energy trailing after her.

Ryder knew she’d fucked up. 

The banshee raised its bladed arm, ready to strike. Then it burst into flames and Ryder was glad for the heat-proofing on her armor. Attention diverted, Anna knew she had to take advantage of it. Activating her omni-blade she sent it sinking into the creature’s shoulder. 

Shepard watched as the banshee got stabbed and for a second it looked like it worked, but then the banshee threw Ryder like the woman was nothing but an annoying fly. 

“Ryder!” Rose yelled as the younger woman hit a stone pillar, slumping to the ground. Anna didn’t respond and Rose pushed the rising worry down, they needed to get out first. 

“How’s that pick-up coming Cortez?” she called out while reaching for a cryo round, ejecting the spent heat sink, and sliding in the new clip smoothly. 

“_You’d be surprised at how many of those fuckers there are Commander. So far EDI’s not having any luck._”

“Then we’ll just have to make one. You have our coordinates, EDI?” 

_I do, Shepard._

“Transmit them to Cortez.” Shepard snapped as she pulled out a grenade before priming it. “Heads up!” 

The grenade landed at the feet of the banshee and a heartbeat passed before it exploded, sending bodies and bits flying everywhere. As the dust settled, she could see that it had also made a hole in the wall, giving them an impromptu exit. Moving quickly, Shepard made her way towards Ryder and helped the other woman up. “You good?”

Ryder wavered slightly and her head was pounding, she really hoped she didn’t have a concussion. But then the two Shepard’s merged into one and Ryder nodded her head, “I can make it.” 

“Alright.” Rose glanced at her HUD and made a face at all the blips on it. She really hated husks.

Just then she heard the Kodiak’s thrusters and Cortez over the comm, “_Ready when you are Commander._”

“Let’s get out of here.” Rose said while firing her assault rifle and slowly walking backwards. "Vega! Let's go!"

Ryder pulled out her pistol and tried to pick off the husks, but her shots went wide. Jumping the short distance, she grabbed onto the hand Shepard had out and with her world spinning sat heavily in her seat. Pulling off her helmet, she closed her eyes while realizing how close she came to seriously injuring herself back there.

Once Rose closed the shuttle door and Steve turned them back towards the Normandy, she let out a sigh. They had made it out alive.

Looking to where Ryder was sitting, her own helmet off and looking slightly dazed, Shepard swallowed the frustration that was building. She’d save the dressing down for later.


	2. Serrice Ice Brandy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back on the Normandy, Anna starts to carve out a place for herself.

Ryder absently rubbed her neck to try and ease the dull throb at the base of her neck. It worked for a second, but then it resumed. She’d managed to dodge a concussion, but Doctor Chakwas wanted to keep her for a few hours just to make sure.

The med bay doors opened and she saw Shepard walking in. Not saying anything, Ryder slipped off the bed and stood with her arms behind her back. Years of Alec’s expression after he’d gotten a call from school about her behavior told her that Shepard wasn’t thrilled with what happened on the planet.

“Feeling better?” Rose asked while striding towards the middle of the bay. 

“Just waiting for the pain meds to kick in, Commander.”

Rose folded her arms and took a breath, trying not to be too angry at Ryder. She remembered when she was first in the Alliance, trying to find her place, and that had caused her to take risks she normally wouldn’t. 

“_It’s probably double if she wants to prove that she won’t let me down._” she thought, staring at the younger woman.

After what seemed like a lifetime Shepard spoke, “It might not seem like it on the Citadel, but out here there’s no room for playing cowboy. I remember how the Reds operate, you can do whatever you want as long as it gets done. But you’re not apart of that anymore and I need to know if you can follow orders. I need people I can trust on squad rotation.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Good. You’ll be on extra duty for the next three weeks, Major Alenko will have your assignment for you. And you’ll go through a biotic refresher course with him. Your shields are still slow to go up.” Rose took a few steps to leave but then paused, turning to see that Ryder hadn’t moved. 

“You did good today though.” she said a bit softer.

Ryder relaxed a little at the words, “Thank you Commander.” 

When she was released from the infirmary, Ryder made her way down to the shuttle bay. Her head was still buzzing with Shepard’s words and she needed something to distract herself with.

“_I might as well spec out my weapons._” she thought while curving to the left where the armory was.

The armory was in decent shape, but a mess. Tape was placed on lockers so you could tell where your shit was, but if it was properly cleaned and ready would be a toss up. 

“I remember Vega saying the armory was shorthanded.” Anna muttered to herself while opening the locker, taking out the unmodded Carnifax pistol and Crusader shotgun she’d used planetside. "But is anyone besides him working here?"

Rifling through the mods (which were all stuffed in a _box_), Ryder managed to find what she needed and set them on a workbench. Grabbing a set of tools, she sat down on the stool and organized her station-putting everything she’d need out before getting to work.

Vega rounded the corner, data pad in hand and stopped; not sure what he was seeing. The smell of oil and cleaning solvent, as well as the sharp tang of metal shavings, filled the air and he watched as Anna Ryder finished reassembling a pistol.

“EDI?” he quietly asked after retreating back around the corner.

_Yes, Lieutenant?_

“How long as Ryder been working?”

_Approximately three hours. She has also started to reorganize the armory. Do you wish me to tell her to stop?_

“No.” Clearing his throat he made sure his footsteps were louder. “EDI said that you started to reorganize things. I thought you hadn’t been assigned yet.”

Anna looked over to where Vega was and shook her head. “I just wanted to get a start on modding my weapons. Lieutenant. If I can say, the mods are a mess. It took me a few minutes to find a long barrel.”

“That’s what she said.” Vega said automatically as his brain caught up with what he’d said. 

Shit.

Anna tried to cover in her smile at the dirty joke and was only somewhat successful. 

“I-I’m-” James started to stutter out, not knowing if Ryder would hate the old Earth joke. He didn’t make jokes like that right off the bat, he usually waited until knowing the person a bit more. Then he saw she was trying not to laugh and relaxed.

“I was going to say ‘title of your sex vid’ but that’s better. I used to make those jokes with my brother.”

“Used to?”

“Scott decided to follow Alec to Andromeda.” 

“Good to know. And...I don't make a habit of making those kinds of jokes right off the bat.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did the armory get like this? You seem like a...methodical person. Sir.”

“I am but when you’re hopping from mission to mission things tend to pile up quickly. Plus we didn’t have a full crew when we left Earth. Still don’t really. Hackett said we'd have to make do since personnel can’t rotate because of the war.” Vega replied as Ryder stood and stretched out her back, trying to ignore how her frame looked like that. 

Clearing his throat he continued, “Your jacket didn’t say anything about a preference for working in the armory.” 

“I got booted out before I could select one. But Alec was N7 so he made sure myself and Scott knew not only how to handle multiple weapons but to strip, clean, and reassemble them. When he was around.”

“From what I've heard about the man, that sounds like him.”

“Was there something else you wanted to know or just my life story?” 

Vega heard the amused tone in Ryder’s voice and knew that she wasn’t bothered by the question. “The Commander needs her Avenger and Eagle cleaned. She wants to know how much disruptor ammo there is, word is that we got contacted by the Quarians to help out with their conflict with the geth.”

“Are we heading towards the Citadel for a quick resupply?”

“If it’s needed.” Vega called over his shoulder while walking towards the elevator. Once the doors had closed he opened his omni-tool, tapping out a quick note to Traynor- asking if she could file paperwork officially assigning Ryder to the armory. 

\--  
The stop at the Citadel had been brief. So brief there wasn’t time for any kind of decent shore leave; just long enough to load enough disruptor ammo to deal with any kind of geth problem.

Anna kept busy though; organizing the armory, cleaning and repairing weapons, and the extra duty made the days pass in a blur. They had to run the stealth systems almost constantly to avoid Reaper patrols, the heat pressing down on them like a muffled weight. Rolling over for what seemed to be the millionth time, she gave up and quietly crept out of her bunk, aware that everyone around her was able to somehow sleep. Walking towards the starboard observation lounge, she wondered how much trouble the Quarian fleet was in. 

“_It seems like the Commander spends all of her time in the war room._” she thought, pressing the panel to open the door and heading for the bar in the corner. 

She’d managed to smuggle aboard a bottle of ice brandy and stash it before heading to her extra duty shift. The past few days had been a blur of duty shifts and making sure everyone’s weapons were ready for when they met up with the Quarian fleet.

“_Now seems like a good time to open it. Might even help me sleep._” Ryder leaned over the bar, trying to feel where she put the bottle but just felt the wood grain against her fingers. 

“Damn it...it has to be here somewhere.” she muttered to herself while straining her reach.

“Looking for something?”

Anna jerked in surprise and tried to keep from tipping over, smashing her feet into the wood paneling and muffling a curse. Hoping down she turned around to see Vega sitting at the poker table with a bottle that looked an awful lot like the one she’d stashed.

“That looks like serrice ice brandy. Stuff’s pretty hard to find even without a war going on. Where’d you get it?” 

“Won it from Shep in this week’s poker game.” Vega held up the bottle and smiled as Ryder crossed the room to sit across from him. “Apparently EDI pointed it out to her and thought it would make a good wager.”

“Clearly she lost.” Anna smiled as he poured them each a glass and took a sip of the drink. It was cool and warm at the same time and she made a mental note to see if she could get an RFID blocker on the Citadel, clearly EDI wasn’t hesitant about snitching.

Then she realized Vega had said something and she had no idea what it had been. Face slightly flushing she said, “Sorry, didn’t catch that.”

“I was just assuming that you couldn’t sleep. Or do you make a habit of sneaking up here when off duty?”

Anna shook her head, “The stealth drive is making it almost impossible to sleep. Not quite used to it I guess. What about you? I’m sure you’re used to it.” 

Nightmares of Fehl Prime were haunting him so he’d decided to open the ice brandy and see if that helped. But that wasn’t something you told someone you’d just met little more than a week ago, so he swallowed the confession and nodded. “You’d think so, but sometimes it just gets to you.”

Anna held up her glass while saying, “Well, here’s to late nights and decent booze.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Vega clinked his glass against Ryder’s and downed the rest. 

Pouring herself another drink Ryder asked, “Up for a quick game?”

“As long as it’s not Skillian Five. I’m horrible at that game.”

“Noted.” Anna grabbed the deck of cards sitting near her and quickly shuffled them with expert hands. “How about lowest card has to answer a question from the winner?”

Vega was silent for a moment, debating if it was worth potentially bringing up Fehl Prime, but then he figured that Ryder wasn’t looking for any late-night confessions either. Plus, since she was working in the armory it’d be a good way to get to know her. Other than she knew her way around more weapons than he possibly did. “Alright.”

Anna quickly dealt them six cards each, while noticing that the bottle was almost empty. Next time they were at the Citadel she’d have to see if she could get a few bottles through back channels. If the back channels were still talking to her. They each flipped their cards at the same time and she let out a laugh; a two while Vega had a six.

“Why sign up for the Alliance?” 

“It was expected of me. Also there aren’t many career options for someone with a GED.”

“Why a GED?” 

“That’s two questions Lieutenant.” 

James slightly tipped his head in acknowledgement. They flipped their cards and he stared at the three he had while she’d turned over another two. For a quick second he debated going with the question he’d just asked but decided to a different one. “I heard about the Andromeda Initiative when they were recruiting. Why not go with your family?”

“There were people here that I wasn’t willing to leave behind.” Anna replied after a beat. “Plus Jien Garson funded Alec’s AI work. I’m assuming. Where else would he get the money to just shut himself up in his lab for so long? It all sounded too good to be true. At least to me.”

The next flip finally went her way; an eight while James got a five. She drained her glass while thinking of what she should ask. Setting the glass on the green felt, Anna leaned back in her chair, “Why’d you hitch a ride with the Commander? I’m sure they wanted to keep you on Earth.”

James shrugged while idly playing with his now empty glass, “Sure they did. But the Commander took charge of the situation pretty quickly. She wanted people she could trust on her team and after spending half a year guarding her, we knew how the other liked to think.”

A glance at his wrist told him it was late, or early depending how you looked at it. The ice brandy had done its job and Vega felt like he could get a few hours sleep without having another nightmare.

“It’s getting late, a few more hours and we’ll be up all second shift.” Vega stretched as he stood and Anna watched his muscles pull even more at the grey Alliance shirt he always seemed to wear. “Get some rest Ryder.” 

“I’ll try, sir.” She watched him start towards the door. Straightening up, she gathered her remaining courage and before she could lose her nerve called out, “Lieutenant.”

Vega turned around as his hand hovered over the panel, “Yeah?”

“Would...you want to grab a drink at Purgatory? Joker said he wanted to get one next time we got more than a few hours on the Citadel. Personally, I think he’s fishing for gossip and could use the buffer. But-”

“Ryder.” James broke in, feeling the nervous energy coming off of her. “I’d like to, but I don’t fraternize. Saves things from becoming messy if it doesn’t work out.”

Anna could feel the blood rush up her neck and across her cheeks. “Right. I’ll keep my distance then. Sir.”

“Don’t make it too far though.” Vega said while giving her a smile before walking into the hallway.

Anna watched James leave and despite getting shot down still felt like she was on the path to making at least one friend on the ship.


End file.
